Students at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy in Washington, DC, had a wonderful time in Chemistry doing a lab on homogenous and heterogenous mixtures. Ms. Burney and Mrs. Gibson, the two chemistry teachers at Chavez PCHS, were graciously given the “ChemClub Cookbook” from the American Chemical Society to help aid their new 11th grade scholars in making chemistry hit a little closer to home. They used theSweet Lemonade recipe to see if lemonade does become sweeter, as more lemon juice is added. They really enjoyed using the cookbook!

Students make lemonade to learn about reactions.

ChemClubs are not the only ones using the “ChemClub Cookbook“. Many other schools are starting to learn about this great book and use it in their classrooms, including a university who added it is a required book for one of their classes!

Have you ever wondered where the practice of giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day originated? The custom dates back to 1680’s England with the Cadbury brothers who had previously invented the first chocolate candies. These two pioneering chocolatiers secured their place in Valentine’s Day lore with the inspired marketing idea of offering their signature chocolate assortments in decorative heart-shaped boxes to mark the holiday. So began an enduring tradition that blissfully continues on to this day.

Did you know that . . .

Chocolate is literally a blissful treat!

“A chemical known to make us happy when we eat chocolate is anandamide, so named because it means “bliss” in Sanskrit. Not only is it present in chocolate, but it is also produced by the brain and blocks out pain and depression. But when anandamide is produced by the brain, it is broken down quickly, so its effects don’t last. Researchers have shown that chemicals in chocolate may inhibit this natural breakdown of anandamide. This means that when you eat chocolate, anandamide molecules from chocolate stay in the body longer.”

(Haines, G.K. Chocolate: The New Health Food. Or Is It? ChemMatters, April 2009, pp 13-15.)

The ChemClub Cookbookis packed with delicious recipes, that were shared by ChemClubs last year,and short chemistry facts relating to each recipe. TheChemClub Cookbookmakes the perfect gift for any occasion, all year round. The revenues generated from sales benefit the ChemClub program. Clubs can get the book at the discounted price – just send an email tohscheclubs@acs.org for the promo code.